First House on the Hill is a 2017 American horror film about four friends that decide to spend a weekend in a mansion owned by an old lady. The situation is flipped upside down once they come across an ancient haunted tarot deck that will change the fate of their lives…
Directed by Italian filmmaker Matteo Saradini from a screenplay co-written with Kristian Messere.
The Nocturnal Eye Film production stars Chloe Farnworth, Christine Scherer, Lou Volpe, Kristian Messere, Umberto Celisano, Ottavio Taddei, Helene Udy and Sonja Kinski (daughter of actress Nastassja Kinski and granddaughter of actor Klaus Kinski).
Review:
First House on the Hill seems to be an attempt to conjure up an early 70s Euro-horror ambience via its widescreen cinematography, moody lighting and Carlo Poddighe’s easy-listening infused score.
Unfortunately, the onscreen events are as plodding as some early 70s movies. The four dreary and irritating characters onscreen spout unbelievable and pretentious dialogue and have none of the charisma of those from the bygone era the film seems to want to emulate. The result is a tiresome chore to watch until the last twenty minutes when the pace picks up and leads to a predictable twist. We don’t recommend visiting the First House on the Hill unless you’re in a very charitable mood.
Adrian J Smith, MOVIES and MANIA
Other reviews:
“Shows that even if a horror movie is full of super cool visuals, without real atmosphere or interesting characters or good dialogue or an engaging plot, it can still end up being an enormous slog to get through. I get what it’s trying to do, but man, this thing was tedious…” William Hopper
Cast and characters:
Helene Udy … Madame Windsor – Last Village on the Right; The Possession of Mia Moss; Stirring; Swamp Freak; et al
Sonja Kinski … Dorothy – Holidays; The Wicked Within
Eugenia Kuzmina … Alice
Chloe Farnworth … Tera
Lou Volpe … Father Matthew
Paola Saulino … Waitress
Kristian Messere … Henrick
Umberto Celisano … Samuel
Ottavio Taddei … Gardener
Christine Scherer … Valerie
Filming locations:
Malibu, California
Mountain View Cemetery – 2400 N. Fair Oaks, Altadena, California
Gemini Manor, Hollywood, California
Technical details:
85 minutes (original version]
Aspect ratio: 2.35: 1
Audio: D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1 (Dolby Digital 5.1) | Mono (16 mm prints)
Watch the trailer on YouTube
MOVIES and MANIA rating:
